Concrete and appropriate policies are needed to ensure ethnic minorities participate fully in the nation’s economy, said Be Truong Thanh, vice standing chairman of the Committee for Ethnic Minority Affairs at the third two-day session of the UN forum in Geneva , which ended on Dec. 15.

He said ethnic groups should be classified according to their geographical location – such as mountainous or delta – and their socio-economic development level, in order to implement appropriate policies.

He said the Government had been carrying out a number of programmes designed to meet the needs of specific ethnic groups.

These programmes include the implementation of hunger elimination and poverty reduction in the extremely difficult areas in a bid to reduce the poverty level of households. He said Vietnam was implementing a rapid and sustainable poverty-reduction programme in more than 60 extremely difficult and poor districts in ethnic minority areas where the poor account for more than 50 percent of all households.

He also said the Government had begun upgrading and building new infrastructure in extremely difficult areas that included building new roads and improving irrigation channels.

Thanh said projects had been implemented to preserve the indigenous people’s culture.

Five ethnic groups with a population of less than 1,000 have been targeted. They include the Si La, Pu Peo, O Du, Ro Mam and Brau minorities. Further projects will be carried out targeting ethnic groups with a population of less than 10,000.

The Government is also planning to boost trade and tourism in mountainous and remote areas to boost local incomes.

Thanh said it was important to raise awareness among minority groups of the law so that their rights are protected.

He said the participation of local communities in implementing the Government’s programmes was essential. He said the State could provide the “fishing rod, but not the fish.”

He said that if the Government’s programmes were implemented successfully, minority groups would see a marked improvement in their standard of living.

Nearly 40 Vietnamese silk paintings are on display at an exhibition that opened in the Vietnamese Cultural Centre in Paris , France on July 24.

A visitor contemplates a silk painting at the display. The exhibition, the fist of its kind in France , is being co-organised by the Vietnamese Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the Vietnamese Fine Arts, Photography and Exhibition Department, the Vietnamese Embassy in France and the Vietnamese Cultural Centre in Paris .

As part of activities to celebrate the 1,000 th anniversary of Thang Long-Hanoi, the exhibition featured daily activities of Vietnamese people, contributing to introducing the country’s traditional culture to international friends.

The event, which will run until August 30, has attracted great participation of both Vietnamese and French artists.

An exhibition on Japanese design will be held in HCMC in November under the auspices of the Mekong Japan Exchange Year.

The Japan Foundation Center for Cultural Exchanges in Vietnam will organize an exhibition on design in Ho Chi Minh City in November as part of the Mekong Japan Exchange Year the country is celebrating the Indochina region.

Japan Design Today 100 will showcase contemporary Japanese design through a selection of around 100 everyday products used since the 1950s.

These will include clothes, lighting, tables and chairs, mobile phones, vehicles, and others.

It will also offer an explanation for the success of Japanese products and provide Vietnamese an opportunity to know about present-day Japanese life.

The exhibition will remain open from the 14th to the 24th at the Ho Chi Minh City Exhibition House at 92 Le Thanh Ton Street, District 1. Ticket will be free.

“He does like the spotlight, there’s nothing wrong with that but this time he’s chosen not to. He’s a good manager and does lots of good things that people don’t see. He’s got a great future in the game.”

Hull were the better team throughout and Etherington’s effort came against the run of play on 29 minutes after the hosts had already missed several chances.

Olofinjana, who quit Stoke for Hull in pre-season, hit a superb equaliser just after the hour.

Faye’s dismissal for a second bookable offence left the visitors hanging on, and substitute Vennegoor of Hesselink fired home after a Jimmy Bullard shot was beaten away.

Stoke boss Tony Pulis said: “It is the third time we have led away from home this year and not won the game.

“We weren’t at our best but when Matty scored we were hoping that would take us on.”

HA NOI — An awards programme for outstanding enterprises and businesses in Laos, Cambodia and Viet Nam will be held in Ha Noi early next year.

The event is jointly organised by the Viet Nam Association for Small and Medium-sized Enterprise, the Ministry of Defence’s Economic Department and the Association for Economic Development of Viet Nam-Laos-Cambodia.

Prizes will be given to outstanding enterprises and business people who run their business effectively and have been active in social charity work.

“Prizes will also be given to enterprises and business people earning outstanding achievements and investing in economic development in the three countries,” said organisers.

Eligibility for the competition requires enterprises and business people to have actively contributed to the friendship between the three countries; earned high growth rates from high-quality products; have strong and attractive trade-marks as well as a good business culture while obeying laws and protecting the environment.

Judges for the competition will include representatives from relevant ministries, the embassies of Laos and Cambodia in Viet Nam and Vietnamese embassies in Laos and Cambodia.

Representative from friendship associations between the three countries will also be on the judging panel.